António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, speaks during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) A year ago, Guterres sounded an alarm about the survival of humanity and the planet and summoned world leaders to a Summit of the Future at their global gathering this year to unite and take action to reform the U.N. and other institutions established after World War II and address new global threats. It is taking place Sunday and Monday, just before Tuesday’s start of the annual high-level meeting at the U.N. General Assembly. Negotiations on the 30-page pact, now in its fourth revision, have been taking place for months, and in recent interviews and at Wednesday’s press conference the secretary-general has faced questions about its lack of vision, and what is different from U.N. documents adopted in recent years that haven’t been implemented. “It’s very simple,” the U.N. chief replied. All the previous “extraordinary, important declarations” were about what is needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century, he said. The Summit of the Future is about implementing those challenges, which requires reform of global institutions established after World War II including the United Nations. Guterres stressed that in every area — from climate to AI — “there is a serious problem of governance,” and that’s what the Summit of the Future is about. The draft Pact of the Future says world leaders are gathering “at a time of profound global transformation,” and it warns of “rising catastrophic and existential risks” that could tip people everywhere “into a future of persistent crisis and breakdown.” But the draft says leaders are coming to the U.N. “to protect the needs and interests of present and future generations through actions in the Pact for the Future.” It […]
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